Calling all young writers: Enter the Seattle’s Child kids’ poetry contest

In honor of National Poetry Month in April, Seattle’s Child is holding a kids’ poetry contest!

Seattle-area kids in grades K to 8 are encouraged to enter. We will have expert judges pick out the winners, and there will be prizes! Plus, we’ll publish as many submissions as possible on our website.

To enter a poem, email [email protected] with the poem and the following information: poet’s first name and last initial, poet’s school grade, hometown, photo, and any illustrations or background notes that go with the poem. Please put SC Poetry Contest as the subject of the email.

Multiple entries encouraged!

Deadline for kids’ poetry contest entries is April 18. (Original date was April 4, now extended to April 18)

Special thanks to our judges, Bryan Wilson of The Greater Seattle Bureau of Fearless Ideas and Alicia Craven of Seattle Arts and Lectures. Thank you also to our special guest judges: Amira, poet and writer, from The Greater Seattle Bureau of Fearless Ideas and Zinnia Hansen the 2021-2022 Seattle Youth Poet Laureate.

Please read more about our judges below:

Zinnia Hansen is a poet and essayist from the Pacific Northwest. She is a first year student at the University of Washington, studying linguistics. She is the 2021-2022 Seattle Youth Poet Laureate. Her work has been published in various magazines and online publications, including Rattle, Blue Marble Review, and Young Poets Network. She was a finalist in the New York Times Personal Narrative Contest and part of the Hugo House Young Poet’s Cohort. She is in the process of writing a book, of amassing an archive of things she holds holy, which will be published May 2022. Please read a sample of Zinnia’s poem here.

Alicia Craven

Alicia is the Director of Education at Seattle Arts & Lectures’ Writers in the Schools (WITS) program which connects professional writers, teachers and public schools throughout the Puget Sound Region for extended in-class creative writing residencies. She grew up in Oregon, and when not at SAL, can be found outside with friends, at the Puget Sound Goat Rescue, planning events with the Seattle-Rekjavik Sister Cities, or partaking in Seattle’s many arts and culture offerings.

Bryan Wilson

Bryan Wilson is a writer, illustrator, and a Program Manager at the Bureau of Fearless Ideas — a non-profit storytelling and learning community for young writers in Seattle, Washington. Bryan is passionate about designing and facilitating writing workshops to tap into the deep well-spring of creativity; to inspire kindness, curiosity, self-exploration, belonging, and courage; and to energize collaborative imagination to envision worlds that we want to see. Bryan studied language, literature, and geography at the University of California and the University of Washington. Originally from the Redwood Coast of Northern California, Bryan is continually awed and inspired by old forests, the Ocean, and the cultures he comes from. Bryan lives near the water in Seattle with his beloved, Celina, and a writing desk that his mom made.

We are looking forward to filling springtime with your poetry!

To get your kids’ creativity channeled in a poetic direction, check out:

Kids respond to COVID in pictures and words: contest winners

The 2021 poetry contest: winners, runners-up

Seattle Arts and Lectures Writers In the Schools program, which offers a bank of creative writing lessons and videos on its website.

From the Academy of American Poets: 30 ways to celebrate National Poetry Month in the online classroom.